How to keep your friends from checking you in on Facebook

Facebook tonight announced its "Places" feature, wherein it allows you to directly "check in" at any location, without the use of a third-party app to do so. And that's fine. And it also lets your friends check in for you, which is not so fine. The good news is that the first time someone does this, you'll get an e-mail asking if it's OK and if you want to allow people to check you in in the future. It's currently available in the updated iOS app, say our pals at TiPb, and at touch.facebook.com if your browser supports HTML5 and geolocation -- two things Google's made a big deal of in its mobile browser technology -- and it's safe to assume it'll be coming to the Android Facebook app at some point.

Me? I'm not taking any chances. (And, quite frankly, if you're in the same place as me, you're incriminating yourself just as much.) You can disable that "feature" now by going into your privacy settings. Hit the "customize" link, scroll down to the "things other share" section, and disable the "Friends can check me into places" feature."

Last time my friends checked me into somewhere, I woke up in a padded room with a single light bulb and a bunch of ink blots. Never again, folks. Never again. [Facebook]